Stolen Mao scroll worth £230m was cut in two by £50 buyer, police say

Hong Kong police say person who bought scroll thought it was a fake and too long to display

A calligraphy scroll by China's former leader Mao Zedong, estimated to be worth millions, was cut in half after it was stolen last month in Hong Kong, police have said.

The scroll was found damaged when police arrested a 49-year-old man in late September on suspicion of handling stolen property. The South China Morning Post, quoting an unidentified police source, reported that the scroll was cut in two by a buyer who had purchased it for 500 Hong Kong dollars (about 50) and believed the scroll to be counterfeit.